Attaching means



March 7, 1961 D. N. ELTING ET AL ATTACHING MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 22, 1958 March 7, 19 1 D. N. ELTING ET AL ATTACHING MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 22, 1958 I rzz/er'cwrs flamed N w Ma- 4 @ZEJ ZQQ United States Patent ATTACHING MEANS Donald N. Elting, Hinsdale, and Frederick John Spencer,

Chicago, Ill., assignors to Allegheny Steel & Brass Corporation, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Filed Dec. 22, 1958, Ser. No. 782,181

8 Claims. (Cl. 287-114) This invention relates to a new and improved attaching means and more particularly to a new and improved attaching means wherein a bracket secured to one member is insertable in another member and is attached thereto by means of a wedge element.

There are many means for attaching one member to another depending on the particular attachment required and upon the generalconfiguration of the members themselves. The first requirement for any attaching means is that it provide the securing of the members with sufiicient strength and rigidity for the particular use, and, of course, the practical considerations are 'always the simplicity of the parts used, the ease of assembly and the cost of the parts and labor.

A particular use for attaching means is found in the attachment of furniture legs to furniture pieces such as in the construction of tables, wherein the legs are to be attached to table tops. At the present time, the use of tubular metal table legs is common, and it has been found desirable to attach the legs tothe table tops in a detachable manner so that the tables may'be stored and shipped unassembled, thus reducing storage and ship ping space to a minimum. The legs and tops can then be, assembled either by the retailer. or by the ultimate purchaser himself. In order to be commercially acceptable, these attaching means must be inexpensive so as to compete with permanently attached table leg constructions; the means must be strong so as to support the table top under the circumstances for which the table is used, and the means must be easy to assemble so'that the unskilled retailer or even less skilled ultimate purchaser can assemble the table without detailed instruc-.

tions.

v The present invention provides attaching means which are conveniently adaptable for use in attaching legs to items such as table tops. The invention basically consists of a bracket secured to the underside of the table top and extending into the end of a tubular table'leg. The leg is attached to the bracket by a Wedge element insertable through slots in both the table leg and the bracket. This construction is simple and inexpensive as it requires only a metal bracket, which can be stamped from a flat piece, and a wedge element. The table leg construction is simplified even in comparison with 'existing permanent type attachments in that the end of the table leg needs no formingexcept for the slotting. The construction is at least as strong as legs which are permanently attached because of the telescoping of parts and the rigidity of their engagement. The present construction is easily assembled by simply inserting the bracket into the tubular leg with the slots aligned and forcingthe wedge in place.

It is the general object of the present invention to provide a new and improved attaching means.

I Anotherobject of the present invention is to provide a new and improved attaching means wherein one member may be removably attached to another member with the members wedged together.

Patented Mar. 7, 1961 vide a new and improved attaching means for attaching a tubular leg to another member by using a bracket insertable in the leg and attached thereto by a wedge element.

Other and further objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description and drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a table leg secured to a table top by an attaching means illustrating one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the leg and attaching means of Fig. 1; a

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2; v

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the bracket of the attaching means of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of the bracket of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a side elevatonal view of the wedge element of the attaching means of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the top portion of a leg and an attaching means illustrating a second embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 8 is a front elevational view of the portion of the table leg illustrated in Fig. 7;

' Fig. 9 is a front elevational view of the top portion of a leg and attaching means illustrating a modification of theembodiment of Figs. 7 and 8; g

Fig. 10 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line 10 1-10 of Fig. 9; and V p 1 Fig. 11 is a front elevational view of the upper portion of theleg illustrated in Fig. 9.

While this invention as susceptible of embodiments in many different froms, thereis shown in the drawings and will herein be described in .detail several embodiments with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplificationof the principles of the invention, andis not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

'In all of the embodiments illustrated, the attaching" means includes a bracket having horizontal flanges which are secured to the underside of a table top and having a downwardly extending tubular portion. All of the embodiments include a tubular leg which telescopes over the tubular portion of the bracket and has openings which through the leg and bracket and has a nut which is tightened to hold the leg and bracket together.

In the embodiment of Figs. 1 through 6 the attaching means 10 consists of a bracket 11 having a pair of 0p 5 positely extending horizontal flanges 12' and a central tubular portion 1-4 extending downwardly from the flanges 12. The flanges are secured to a table top illustrated in dot-dash lines in Fig. 1, as byscrews 15 or other suitable means. In its preferred use the bracket is attached adjacent the corner of the table top and may be provided with tapered corners 16 on the flanges to permit location of the bracket closely adjacent the outer edges of the table top. 7 r

The tubular portion 14 of the bracket 11 is clearly illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 wherein it is seen to be generally cylindrical with an outer base 18 and open at its inner end 19. Side slots 20 and 21 extend substantially the full height of the tubular portion 14 from the open end 19 to the base 18 so that the bracket is U-shaped when viewed from the front or rear. This construction permits the bracket 11 to be inexpensively formed by stamping from a flat blank.

The outer base 18 of the tubular portion 14 is provided with a central offset portion 22 extending across the base and declining away from the plane of the base from one slot 20 to the other slot 21 so as to make the latter slot 21 longer than the first slot 20. A hole 23 is provided at the center of the base portion 18 for convenience in guiding the bracket during forming. The function of the offset portion 22 will be described below.

As seen in Figs. 3 and 4 the tubular portion 14 may extend at a slight angle from the vertical depending upon the desired angle of the table leg. This angle is not necessary nor is there a critical angle. It is simply pro vided to conform to the particular table daign.

The tubular portion 14 is provided wih an annular shoulder 24 at the juncture with the flanges 12. This shoulder 24 serves the double purpose of strengthening and rigidifying the bracket, at least adding 30 per cent to the tensile strength of the bracket, and serving as a mounting against which the leg 25 abuts. The shoulder 24 has an inclined lower surface 26 formed parallel to the end 28 of the leg 25 so that when the end is forced on the surface 26, it will wedge thereagainst to further strengthen and rigidity the attachment.

The leg 25 is of any conventional tubular construction. In the embodiment illustrated it is a tapered leg having its large diameter at the upper end 28. The leg is provided with a pair of diametrically opposed vertical slots 29 which are of identical height so as to simplify stamping and assembling. Thus, either slot 29 could be at the front or rear when assembled on the bracket. These slots 29 are aligned with the slots 20 and 21 in the bracket 11 for the receipt of the wedging element 30.

The wedging element 30 is of a length greater than the diameter of the leg at the slots and has an inclined upper surface 31 so that when it is inserted in the slots 29 of the leg 25 and in the slots 20 and 21 of the bracket 11, it will wedge against the upper edges 32 of the leg slots 29 and against the offset portion 21 of the bracket. The inclined surface 31 tapers from the front of the element 30 to the rear, and the front top corner 34 of the element is further tapered to facilitate in guiding the wedging element 30 through the slos. The upper rear corner 35 of the wedging element 30 flares upwardly to serve as a stop and also to serve as an engageable lug to facilitate removal of the wedging member. The inclination of the surface 31 with respect to the bottom surface 36 of the wedging element is substantially identical to the inclination of the offset portion 22 of the bracket 11 so that the bottom surface 36 of the wedging element will be in contact with the offset portion 22 throughout substantially the entire length of the offset portion. This angle of inclination has been found by experiment to be most effective in providing a friction fit at five degrees when using a soft steel wedging element. The critical range has been found to be substantially three to seven degrees. An angle of less than three degrees requires an undesirably long wedging element to produce the necessary wedging and an angle of greater than seven degrees is unsatisfactory because the wedge element has a tendency to back out of the slots.

The attaching means of the embodiment of Figs. 1 through 6 can be very simply assembled after the bracket is attached to the table top. The upper end 28 of the leg 25 is telescoped over the tubular portion 14 of the bracket 11, and the slots 29 of the leg are vertically aligned with and partially overlapping the slots 20 and 21 of the bracket. The wedging element 30 is then forced through the slots from the rear, wedging between the tops 32 of the slots 29 of the leg and the offset portion 22 of the bracket 11, which forces the slots to further overlap and forces the end 28 of the leg into a wedging fit on the inclined annular surface 26 of the shoulder 24. A tap with a hammer or other similar instrument locks the wedge 'in place. To disassemble the construction, the Wedge is knocked out of the slots by tapping with a hammer or similar instrument and the leg is easily pulled off the bracket.

The above construction lends itself to easy assembly and disassembly and thus is adaptable for use where it is desirable to store or ship the members unattached to conserve space and therefore conserve cost. The assembly of the parts can then be accomplished by the user. The simplicity of the construction permits even an unskilled purchaser to assemble the members without having to follow detailed or complicated instructions. The attachment is strong and provides a firm support but yet is easily disassembled by simply knocking the wedge loose.

The embodiment of Figs. 7 and 8 utilizes the same general elements as the embodiment of Figs. 1 through 6. Thus, the attaching means 40 consists of a bracket 41, a slotted leg 42, and a wedging element 44. The bracket 41 has flanges 45 with tapered corners similar to the flanges 12 of the previous embodiment and also has a slotted tubular portion 46. However, the bottom 48 of the tubular portion 46 is fiat and is not provided with an offset portion. Thus, the slots 49 on each side of the tubular portion 46 are similar. Also, no shoulder portion is shown, although it can be incorporated if desired. The leg 42 is similar to the leg 25 of the previous embodiment and has diametrically opposed slots 50 and 51. However, these slots are not identical as the top 52 of the rear slot 50 is closer to the end of the leg than the top 54 of the front slot 51 so that a line extending from the top 52 of the rear slot 50 to the top 54 of the front slot 51 will be inclined substantially similar to the inclined top surface 55 of the wedging element 44. This wedging element 44 is identical to the wedging element 30 of the previous embodiment. When the wedging element 44 is forced through the slots 50 and 51 of the leg and the slots 49 of the bracket, the bottom 56 of the wedging element engages the bottom 53 of the slots 49 and the top surface 55 engages the tops 52 and 54 of the leg slots 50 and 51, thus wedging the leg 42 upwardly onto the tubular portion 46 of the bracket so that the top end 58 of the leg 42 abuts the flanges 45.

The assembly of the embodiment of Figs. 7 and 8 is identical to the assembly of the embodiment of Figs. 7 through 6 with the added requirement that the longer slot 50 of the leg must be aligned at the rear of the bracket 41. Both embodiments are easily formed from a minimum of material and at a low cost in comparison with other existing constructions. The second embodiment does not require the formation of the offset portion, but does require the formation of different sized slots in the leg. Other than that, the advantages over the existing constructions are the same in both cases and the brazicet 41 may be similarly formed from a length of flat stoc Figs. 9 through 11 illustrate a modification of the embodiment of Figs. 7 and 8 wherein a nut and bolt replace the wedging element to secure the members to-' gether. The bracket 61 is similar to the bracket of the embodiment of Figs. 7 and 8 with the addition of a tapered shoulder 63 similar to that of Figs. 1 through 6. The leg 62 is similar to the leg of the previous em-- bodiment except that instead of slots, the leg is formed with diametrically opposed holes 65 spaced from the end of the leg approximately the same distance as the distance between the shoulder 63 and the end 69 of the slot 70. The bolt 64 is mounted through the holes 65 of the leg and through the slots in the bracket 61. The bolt is in contact with the ends '69 of .the slots 70 to strengthen and rigidifyythe attachment. A nut-68 is secured on the threaded end of the bolt 64 and is tightened to 'pull the head 66 of the bolt against the legs thereby tightly securing the members together. The nut 68 may be tightened sufliciently toslightly deform the leg against the bracket to further increase the rigidity of'the attachment. Y 7

The construction of Figs. 9 through 11 is easy toatrtach' and the parts are simple and inexpensively formed. The use of the nut and bolt in placeof the wedging element results in a slightly different-type of attachment but when satisfactorily tightened, provides an adequately rigid and strong means for securing the leg to the table.

We claim as our invention:

1. Attaching means for removably securing one member to another member, said attaching means, comprising: a bracket secured to said other member and having a tubular portion extending therefrom, said tubular portion having a pair of opposed longitudinally disposed slots therein; said one member having anopen tubular end portion, said tubular end portion being removably telescoped over said tubular bracket portion and having a pair of opposed longitudinally disposed slots therein longitudinally aligned with and partially overlapping the tubular bracket portion slots; an annular shoulder having a tapered surface formed in said tubular bracket portion against which the tubular end portion abuts; and a wedging element insertable through the slots to wedge the tubular end portion on the tapered surface of the shoulder to secure the members together.

2. Attaching means for removably securing one member to another member, said attaching means, comprising: a bracket secured to said other member and having a tubular portion extending therefrom, said tubular portion having a pair of opposed longitudinally disposed slots' therein having outer ends aligned; said one member having an open tubular end portion, said tubular end portion being removably telescoped over said tubular bracket portion and having a pair of opposed longitudinally disposed slots therein, the outer end of one rod portion slot being spaced longitudinally with respect to the outer end of the other end portion slot, said end portion slots being longitudinally aligned with and partially overlapping the bracket portion slots; and a wedging element having an inclined surface with an inclination corresponding substantially to the longitudinal spacing of the outer ends of the end portion slots and insertable through the slots to secure the members together.

3. Attaching means for removably securing one member to another member, said attaching means, comprising: a bracket secured to said other member and having a. tubular portion extending therefrom, said tubular portion having a pair of opposed longitudinally disposed slots therein having outer ends aligned; said one member having an open tubular end portion, said tubular end portion being removably telescoped over said tubular bracket portion and having a pair of opposed longitudinally disposed slots therein, the outer end of one end portion slot being spaced longitudinally with respect to the outer end of the other end portion slot, said end portion slots being longitudinally aligned with and partially overlapping the bracket portion slots; an annular shoulder having a tapered surface formed in said tubular bracket portion against which the tubular end portion abuts; and a wedging element having an inclined surface with an inclination corresponding substantially to the'longitudinal spacing of the outer ends of the end portion slots and insertable through the slots to wedge the tubular end portion on the tapered surface of the shoulder to secure the members together.

4. Attaching means for removably securing one memb er to another member, said attaching means, comprising: a bracket secured to said other member and having a tubular portion extending therefrom, said tubular porsubstantially perpendicular to the base on opposite sides 6 tion having an outer base with an inclined offset portion and apair of opposedlongitudinally'disposed 'slots the in extending'from oppositefendsc f'the offset the inclination of the offset portion providing longitudinal spacing between the outer ends of the slots; said one member having anopen tubular end portion, said end portion being removably telescoped over said tubular bracketfportion and having a pair of opposedIlongi-' a tubular portion extending therefrom, said tubular portion having an outer base with an inclinedoifset portion and a pair of opposed longitudinally disposed slots therein extending from opposite ends of the offset portion, the

inclination of the offset portion providing longitudinal spacing between the outer ends of the slots; said one member having an open tubular end portion, said tubular end portion being removably telescoped over said tubular bracket portion and having a pair of opposed longitudinally disposed slots therein longitudinally aligned with and partially overlapping the bracket portion slots, the outer ends of the end portion slots being longitudinally aligned; an annular shoulder having a tapered surface formed in said tubular bracket portion against which the tubular end portion abuts; and a wedging element having an inclined surface-with an inclination corresponding substantially to the inclination of said offset portion of the bracket base and insertable through the slots to wedge the tubular end portion on the tapered surface of the shoulder to secure the members together.

6. A bracket formed from a length of fiat material for use in attaching means of the type wherein the bracket is secured to one member and is telescoped into another member in which it is secured by a locking element extending through both said other member and bracket, said bracket, comprising: a central base portion; a slotted tubular portion extending from said base for telescoping in said other member and formed by bending the length thereof, said bent portions being spaced apart to provide opposed longitudinal slots in said tubular portion extending from the base to the other end of the tubular portion for receipt of said locking element; and flanges formed by bending the ends of the length away from the tubular portion, said flanges serving to mount the bracket to said one member.

7. A bracket formed from a length of flat material for use in attaching means of the type wherein the bracket is secured to one member and is telescoped into another member in which it is secured by a locking element extending through both said other member and bracket, said bracket, comprising: a central base portion; a slotted tubular portion extending from said base for telescoping in said other member and formed by bending the length substantially perpendicular to the base on opposite sides thereof, said bent portions being spaced apart to provide opposed longitudinal slots in said tubular portion extending from the base to the other end of the tubular portion for receipt of said locking element; an annular shoulder formed in the tubular portion and spaced from the base portion, said other member abutting said shoulder when the tubular portion is locked in said other member; and flanges formed by bending the ends of the length away from the tubular portion, said flanges serving to mount the bracket to said one member.

8. In attaching means for securing one member to an.

7 other member, the combination of a bracket formed from flat stock and having a central base, a slotted tubular portion with spaced intermediate sections bent laterally in the same direction from opposite sides of said base and defining slots extending longitudinally of the tubular portion, and flanges integral with the ends of said sections remote from said base and projecting laterally from the sections for attachment to said one member, a tubular element adapted to be secured to said other member and telescoping over said slotted tubular portion, said element having apertures registering with said slots, and an elongated locking device extending through said registering slots and apertures and engaging said base and said element to lock the latter and the bracket rigidly together.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Bandei' Jan. 24, 1958 

